Most lingerie ads pretty much offer the same thing—sex, sex and more sex. And while sex does sell, I’ve had issues in the past with wanting to see curvy women in more than just lace bras and panties. So it was really refreshing to see Selfridge’s new advertisement of women in underwear from the female gaze instead of the usual male gaze.
The sexualized imagery of women in lingerie is expected—and many argue that it’s a step in the right direction for curvy women to be desired in that manner. But I really do feel like it’s an even greater challenge to show how women are in their own beautiful and flawed reality—not some hyper-photoshopped version that they don’t even recognize. Maybe I’m the only one who has separate underwear for special occasions, but I don’t wear a lacy thong to work every day even if that’s what they do in Victoria’s Secret ads.
The ‘EveryBody’ campaign shot by photographer Norbert Schoerner and choreographed by Wayne McGregor of the Royal Ballet, aims to show the relationship that five women have with their bodies and their undergarments. (These images were made to promote Selfridges’ new Body Studio lingerie section that will feature only non-photoshopped models.)
The director of the flim, Kathryn Ferguson told i.D., “For so long underwear advertising has been dominated by sexualized imagery of women in heightened poses and impossible designs. When in reality, this is worlds apart from the everyday act of putting on your pants and the choices we make in the morning. I hope the film helps to cut through the noise and show amazing women appearing stripped back, as they are, speaking truthfully. All five have achieved great things and for that reason I wanted to go back to basics—finding out how they felt about themselves.”
It’s a pleasant sight — the industry going in this direction, and we’re hoping that other will start to follow suit. Fighting the clichés of how lingerie is sold deserves more than handclap because if you haven’t noticed yet, women want to see more realistic images and less of fake. See more of the real in the video below.
